noun:

• ups and downs of life; vicissitudes of fortune - four character idiom

expression / ichidan verb:

• to compare and contrast two alternatives; to weigh the relative merits of A and B; to weigh one's options
• to try to have it both ways; to try to sit on two stools ➜ 両天秤を掛ける

noun:

• dried codfish soaked in water for few days, and cooked almost to dryness in soy sauce and water (Kyoto speciality)

noun:

• bait-and-switch advertising; bait-and-switch advertisement

noun:

• Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications

noun:

• seven-and-five-syllable meter

expression:

• trying to straighten the horns of a bull, and killing it in the process; trying to correct a small defect and ruining the whole thing; The cure is worse than the disease - four character idiom

noun:

• nephews and nieces

noun:

• aluminium and sicilicum alloy - From German "Silumin"

noun / ~する noun:

• agitating other players in a multiplayer or online game by rapidly moving one's avatar left and right - abbr. of シャア専用ゲルググのダンス - slang

noun:

• ebb and flow

noun:

• rice and salt; the necessities of life

noun:

• origin and history; particulars - four character idiom

noun / adjectival noun:

• ignorant and illiterate - sensitive - four character idiom

expression:

• raining on and off

noun:

• salad dressed with tofu, white sesame, and white miso

adjectival noun / ~の noun / ~たる adjective / ~と adverb:

• calm and composed; broadminded; having enough and to spare - four character idiom

noun:

• peace and order; law and order - four character idiom

noun:

• Chinese-style fried chicken topped with chopped scallions and sweet vinegar and soy sauce - Food term - From Chinese "yóu lín jī"

noun:

• short take-off and landing; STOL

noun:

• hidden line and surface removal - IT term

expression / godan ~ぐ verb:

• to pitch in and help

noun:

• land-tax system during the Edo period under which the government took half of the year's crop and the farmers kept the other half - archaism - four character idiom

noun:

• between life and death

noun:

• advantages and disadvantages; pros and cons - four character idiom